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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 1968)
■ * -W-V w,v^.V-\V- %•*.' v..'.y%y.v \ r^/yv.-vv,;-v.* - •.* V. SC * • “ Spring Sports I'exas ’ MVP By JOHN PLATZER After a few winks like those of someone who has just awakened from a long nap, the lights on the Tower of Texas University at Austin came on Saturday night to cast an orange hue over the area. In times past, the lighting of the tower was used to signify a special victory. Victories of any kind, especially those over A&M, have become so rare, however, that Sat urday’s lighting can be traced to either: 1) Texas seeing if the bulbs still work, or 2) the Austin school saying thanks to its most valuable baseballer, Torrential Downpour (rain). It was the weekend rain combined with a Southwest Conference rule, archaic from its conception, that allowed t. u. to crawl backwards into the conference baseball cham pionship. The combination also bestowed upon Texas the dubious distinction of being one of the few teams in history to win the title while losing the season series to both major challengers. The rule in question has just completed its initial sea son in the SWC, with its only accomplishment being to prove itself completely absurd. In short, the rule says that can celed games in the second half of the season cannot be re scheduled, except by moving them back one day to make a doubleheaded out of a single game. With the passing of this rule, the conference fathers known for bad decisions in the past, completely outdid themselves. Conditions arising where a team less than the conference’s best can slide into the throne room are nu merous under the act. Among the possibilities are a team winning the crown while playing only the league’s lower teams and a school taking the championship only because the better teams couldn’t get in enough games. The conference seems to be applying a variation of a famous Grantland Rice quote to the awarding of the base ball championship: “It matters not that you win or lose, but rather when it rains.” Texas, always quick to obey the SWC standards to the hilt (that is when they are to t. u.’s advantage), was the rule’s beneficiary in its first year. The Aggies and Texas were to play Friday and Satur day games last week that would decide the SWC champion ship between Texas and Texas Christian (the rule had al ready eliminated A&M). Either a sweep of the two games by the Aggies or a split would have given TCU, who de feated t. u. two out of three times this year, the title. Outside of a double rainout, Texas’ only chance of win ning the championship was a sweep. The odds against such an occurance were astronomical, to say the least. A&M de feated Texas the only time the teams met in the season. The slim hope Texas had began to materialize Friday as heavvy rains blanketed most of Texas, including Austin. T. U. did nothing outwardly to help along the rule (although students wearing strange customes were reported doing . strange dances in parts of the city) but they certainly didn’t try too hard to get the games in either. By the time the downpour quit, around 4 p. m. Sat urday, there was no question that the games could not be played because of the condition of the field. The fact is, however, that if the rains had stopped within hours after starting, the games could still not have been gotten in. Few precautions, if any, were taken to keep the field in a playable condition. A small tarpaulin was noticed over the pitcher’s mound while the rest of Clark Field was left completely susceptible to the elements. By 4 p. m. Friday, the infield around shortstop was under water and looked as if a group of young children has used the area to make a box full of mudpies. Every time a situation arises where the SWC baseball crown is awarded through a conference misjudgment in rules, t. u. seems to be first in line with its hands out. This was the third time in eight years that Texas has won the title through a rule technicality. In 1966 they won a coin flip (an obvious way to tell the best baseball team) after they had tied with A&M, TCU and Baylor for the crown. Baylor was denied the championship in 1961 in favor of Texas because of its exam schedule. Texas went to Waco to play the Bears in the final two games of the season, need ing a split to take the crown. Baylor won the first game and then the teams started a marathon which was called in the eighth inning because of darkness, with the squads tied 9-9. Final exams started at Baylor the next day and SWC rules say that a game cannot be played after exams begin. Baylor asked that the called game be moved to a lighted field but Texas refused because of obvious reasons. Considering the success Texas has had in beating the Aggies in face-to-face athletic competition during the “Year of the Horns”, it is not hard to realize why they have re verted to lighting the Tower in honor of their ability to control the weather. The people who predicted the t. u. year, probably the same ones who said Landon would defeat Roosevelt and originated the Suberbill Bradley label, have a hard time explaining why no Texas varsity team has defeated an Aggie team all season. C&S Sales & Service The Radiator Shop 1308 CAVITT BRYAN, TEXAS 822-3298 Major Company Credit Cards Accepted. Same Day Service 15% Discount With This Ad. A GAME OF TAG Adolfo Phillips (20), Chicago Cubs, goes like a streak, but is tagged out by New York Mets’ Bud Harrelson in a run-down between second and third bases in second inning of National League game in Chicago. Phillips doubled to get in. He was caught between bases when Bill Hands tapped back to pitcher Tom Seaver. Hands was safe at first. Um pire is Lee Weyer. Cubs won, 3-1. (AP wirephoto) THE BATTALION Tuesday, May 14, 1968 College Station, Texas Page 5 Basketball Program Gets All-American Texas A&M’s basketball re cruiting program was boosted Saturday with the signing of Joe Hamilton, an All-American junior college player from Christian Col lege of the Southwest. Hamilton is the first Negro basketball player to be recruited by Texas A&M. The 5-10, 170-pounder is from Louisville, Ky., and was a high school All-America at nearby Lex ington Dunbar High School. Hamilton entered Christian Col lege, located at Mesquite, two years ago and led the junior col lege to two straight winning sea sons. This season, his team made the quarter-finals of the National Junior College Basketball Cham pionships where they were elimi nated by the subsequent cham pion, San Jacinto of Pasadena. Following the JUCO champion ships, Hamilton participated in the Olympic basketball team try outs, After the completion of the tryouts, he was named as an al ternate to the 1968 Olympic team. He will compete in all the team’s practices but would only partici pate in the Olympics should one of the regular members of the team be unable to compete. In his first year at Christian College, he averaged 32.3 points- a-game, while last season he hit at a 31.3 average. In those years, the team finished 25-6 and 30-6 respectively. Head Basketball Coach Shelby Metcalf, who signed Hamilton, said that he (Hamilton) will be able to play next season and be eligible for post-season play. Puritan Sportwear %Hm 9tfunca mtn'o wear APPROVED *1,298,000 For A&M UNIVERSITY By The Legislative Budget Board ... for the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory *641.000 to beef up A&M Agriculture Extension Services Lt. Gov. Preston Smith is a Chairman of The Budget Board and voted this approval! Support PRESTON SMITH for GOVERNOR of TEXAS Pol. Adv. by Citizens for Preston Smith for Governor TRAVIS BRYAN, JR., Chairman .